Reflection, Sharing, and Giving Thanks

For most of us, Thanksgiving Day marks the start of the season where we reflect on where we have been and where we want to go.  Our interests tend to transition from giving to ourselves to giving to others and wanting to share our blessings with those who seek to be blessed by the generosity of others.  I suspect all these attributes came together as Lisa, Carrie and I visited my Mom in Arlington, VA for the past five days to celebrate Thanksgiving.  (For those of you who know Cairo and Cleo, those two joined the road trip.) 


This annual sojourn also included promoting aaduna and once again we left marketing material at the Poets and Busboys restaurant on 14^th and U Streets in DC.  While we did not get the chance to see friends and family in Baltimore and other parts of MD, or spend time with friends/family in DC (Sandra Miles and Frank Daspit), there were some inspiring highlights.  

Dinner at Rincome, a Thai restaurant on Columbia Pike.  Since my trip to Thailand years ago, I search out Thai restaurants that I think are true to Thai tastes and not an Americanized version of its cuisine.  I had Chang beer for the first time since Singha tends to dominate most Thai restaurants. 

• Pre-thanksgiving dinner shopping at Harris Teeter, our favorite supermarket

On Friday, we took my Mom, who is 91, to view the MLK Memorial.  While her steps were feeble and cautious, Lisa and Carrie accompanied her as she read the various King quotations that embraced the monument and talked about how his dream still has not been achieved.  I stayed in the car to secure an easily reachable parking space that stretched into the dreaded “Do Not Park” designation.

• Lisa, Carrie and I returned to the King Memorial early Saturday morning and I was humbled by the magnitude of the monument and the power of his words.

• Visited the Air Force Memorial adjacent to the Pentagon, a stunning structure that I see whenever I drive to northern VA but never experienced up close. 

• On the road trip back home, we stopped at a quaint restaurant for lunch that we noticed on the last trip down that way but did not stop.  Skeeters Pit BBQ sits at the top of a hill/small mountain in Shamokin Dam, PA.

We stayed at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington where staff was gracious and very helpful.  Plus, the hotel is truly pet friendly without fees or horrendous restrictions on pets.   

Starting tomorrow, I’ll get back to reading and reviewing submissions for the First Anniversary issue that will launch in late February 2012.   

I hope you had a grand weekend with your family and friends.

bill